Ginger 14-242

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Sponsored by:

Vickie K

 

Happy Easter Ginger, such a good girl you are   Happy Easter Ginger, such a good girl you are! Joan W

 

Have a wonderful Easter! Love CJ     Have a wonderful Easter! Love CJ

 

 

Hi Ginger You are so beautiful. Hope you have a wonderful spring.  Hi Ginger You are so beautiful. Hope you have a wonderful spring. Vickie K

 

Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous   Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Entered Foster Care Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
01/28/2015  Required  10+  Optional  Untested 
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Please welcome gentle and beautiful Ginger, our newly arrived senior, to the RAGOM community. Once you meet her you will instantly fall in love with her. She is just that special. Ginger is 11 years old (DOB 9/01/03) and looks and behaves like a much younger dog. Whether Ginger is a purebred Golden or a Golden mix is a bit uncertain but she certainly looks Golden and has the wonderfully sweet temperament of a Golden. She is in excellent health save for taking an inexpensive med twice a day for hypothyroidism.

She came to us directly from a family residing in Minnesota with whom she had lived since she was a puppy. She was raised with 7 children and loved those children with all her heart and would place herself quietly between the children and any strangers who came to the door. The reason for her surrender to RAGOM is that the family's youngest is a special-needs child and was having difficulty understanding limits in handling Ginger. Ginger started giving small warning growls at this behavior, perhaps due to getting older, and the family sadly decided that the best thing to do for their child and for Ginger was to find a new home for Ginger and we are so grateful they entrusted her to RAGOM.

The reason Ginger has a 2014 RAGOM number instead of one for 2015 is because her surrendering owner (SO) originally contacted RAGOM last August. Ginger was accepted and given her number at that time but ultimately the SO changed her mind about surrendering Ginger for adoption right then. This is not unusual......they love Ginger very much. The SO again contacted RAGOM recently and Ginger was surrendered to us last week on January 28th and arrived here on that date.

Ginger is fully house trained, has had no accidents, has free roam throughout the house, has no separation anxiety when left here alone when I run errands, loves to go outdoors, rides beautifully in a car, rarely barks and is just a perfect little lady in all ways. She is so sweet-natured, so loving and a pure pleasure to be with at all times.

She is spayed, up-to-date on all immunizations, and heartworm, fecal and Lyme's disease tests were all negative. She was positive for Lyme's in 2007 and successfully treated.

She is a bit underweight at 50 pounds so we are working on that. She is eating a high-quality food and seems to enjoy her kibble most when it is softened with a little warm water.

Her SO reports that Ginger loves to go on runs and hikes and in isolated areas is allowed off-leash because of her excellent recall.

Finally, I am going to recommend at this time that Ginger go to a family that has at least one member home during the day or at least can see that she will never be left alone when bad weather threatens because Ginger has severe storm and fireworks anxieties. She cannot be crated because in the past she tried to chew and bite her way out and has multiple broken teeth because of that. Our veterinarian checked her teeth carefully and did not feel any extractions were needed. The SO said that during storms Ginger needs to be held and comforted. If she is alone she panics and chews. She also sent along Ginger's ThunderShirt. Ginger is such a special senior, beautiful inside and out, and will bring so much joy to her new home......storm anxiety is not an insurmountable problem nowadays.

 

 

 

At a Glance #14-242

Mixed Breed Born: September 2003
Female 55 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Sponsored by:

Vickie K

 

Happy Easter Ginger, such a good girl you are   Happy Easter Ginger, such a good girl you are! Joan W

 

Have a wonderful Easter! Love CJ     Have a wonderful Easter! Love CJ

 

 

Hi Ginger You are so beautiful. Hope you have a wonderful spring.  Hi Ginger You are so beautiful. Hope you have a wonderful spring. Vickie K

 

Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous   Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Entered Foster Care Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
01/28/2015  Required  10+  Optional  Untested 
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Please welcome gentle and beautiful Ginger, our newly arrived senior, to the RAGOM community. Once you meet her you will instantly fall in love with her. She is just that special. Ginger is 11 years old (DOB 9/01/03) and looks and behaves like a much younger dog. Whether Ginger is a purebred Golden or a Golden mix is a bit uncertain but she certainly looks Golden and has the wonderfully sweet temperament of a Golden. She is in excellent health save for taking an inexpensive med twice a day for hypothyroidism.

She came to us directly from a family residing in Minnesota with whom she had lived since she was a puppy. She was raised with 7 children and loved those children with all her heart and would place herself quietly between the children and any strangers who came to the door. The reason for her surrender to RAGOM is that the family's youngest is a special-needs child and was having difficulty understanding limits in handling Ginger. Ginger started giving small warning growls at this behavior, perhaps due to getting older, and the family sadly decided that the best thing to do for their child and for Ginger was to find a new home for Ginger and we are so grateful they entrusted her to RAGOM.

The reason Ginger has a 2014 RAGOM number instead of one for 2015 is because her surrendering owner (SO) originally contacted RAGOM last August. Ginger was accepted and given her number at that time but ultimately the SO changed her mind about surrendering Ginger for adoption right then. This is not unusual......they love Ginger very much. The SO again contacted RAGOM recently and Ginger was surrendered to us last week on January 28th and arrived here on that date.

Ginger is fully house trained, has had no accidents, has free roam throughout the house, has no separation anxiety when left here alone when I run errands, loves to go outdoors, rides beautifully in a car, rarely barks and is just a perfect little lady in all ways. She is so sweet-natured, so loving and a pure pleasure to be with at all times.

She is spayed, up-to-date on all immunizations, and heartworm, fecal and Lyme's disease tests were all negative. She was positive for Lyme's in 2007 and successfully treated.

She is a bit underweight at 50 pounds so we are working on that. She is eating a high-quality food and seems to enjoy her kibble most when it is softened with a little warm water.

Her SO reports that Ginger loves to go on runs and hikes and in isolated areas is allowed off-leash because of her excellent recall.

Finally, I am going to recommend at this time that Ginger go to a family that has at least one member home during the day or at least can see that she will never be left alone when bad weather threatens because Ginger has severe storm and fireworks anxieties. She cannot be crated because in the past she tried to chew and bite her way out and has multiple broken teeth because of that. Our veterinarian checked her teeth carefully and did not feel any extractions were needed. The SO said that during storms Ginger needs to be held and comforted. If she is alone she panics and chews. She also sent along Ginger's ThunderShirt. Ginger is such a special senior, beautiful inside and out, and will bring so much joy to her new home......storm anxiety is not an insurmountable problem nowadays.

 

 

 

Updates

Sunday, June 7, 2015

My apologies for this delayed update to all of Ginger's fans who have been watching her progress in RAGOM, but the news, while a bit late, is all good.

First, a huge thank you for the Spring icons.......to Ginger's wonderful and generous sponsor Vickie K. and to Anonymous who generously makes sure all the Golden Seniors are remembered. Ginger looks extra pretty with her Spring flowers.

The big news for Ginger is that she went to the Meet and Greet in Roseville yesterday, June 6th, and she was amazing! There was no trace of reactive behavior towards any of the dogs there.....she just joined the line-up of beautiful Goldens and honorary Goldens ........doing what comes naturally when introducing themselves to each other.....what a girl! And with the two-legged visitors she was her usual sweet, mellow self and thoroughly enjoyed all the extra pets and love that came her way. I couldn't be more proud of her!

The next goal is for her to be able to share her personal indoor and outdoor space with another dog....maybe with a sleepover with another mellow pup and eventually maybe bringing in another foster to keep her company and enrich her life.

Ginger's thunderstorm anxieties are very real and she will never be able to be left alone during storm season....but retired folks or work-at-home folks would all make perfect adopters for Ginger. The good news here is that Ginger is able to handle these storms with less stress now with a veterinarian prescribed dose of an inexpensive medication prior to the storm's arrival. She still gets stressed, just not as much.......and still needs her human with her. Ginger and I have worked out her safe spot and some other techniques to help her through the storms, all of which will be shared with her forever family.

The requirement for a fence will be permanent because Ginger is a watchdog and will always be a watchdog. She barks a warning to anyone approaching the fence or house. Strangers at the Meet and Greet....no problems. Strangers at her doorstep...she barks.

Ginger is a wonderful dog...very healthy and alert, eyes and ears fine, loves children, never an accident.....no bad habits at all. And very, very loving. Just a sweetheart!

 

 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Ginger looks so pretty with her new Spring icons encircling her webpage photo. She sends big hugs and love to CJ and Joan W for their thoughtfulness and generosity.

Beautiful Ginger has gotten through her first moderate thunderstorm with flying colors. Like most dogs she knew it was coming long before the first rumble could be heard. The first signs were when Ginger started panting and slowly going from level to level in the house, checking out every room for a safe place to ride out the coming storm. I followed behind to make sure she chose wisely....for example, settling down upon a large tangle of computer cables and wires under a table holding the printer, monitor etc was not a good idea.

She then thoroughly checked out the walk-in shower stall in the lower level bathroom which is also the designated safe place when we have tornado warnings, and I thought this would be a good safe place for her but Ginger thought otherwise. She eventually settled into the alcove on the stair landing at the lowest level and curled up there for about an hour, while I was nearby. When I had to go upstairs she followed and settled onto one of her beds beside where I was working. This is when the thunder became a bit louder. I wrapped her snugly in my sweater and she seemed content and stayed right there beside me napping lightly for the rest of the storm. I kept the television on at all times and increased the volume.....but am not sure if this makes a difference but it might help.

The positive from this first storm experience is that sweet Ginger displayed no frantic, wild or destructive behaviors of any sort. She was obviously frightened at all times and having someone there with her during these storms and giving her lots of reassurance and comfort will be important to her success in her future forever home. Even after the storm passed she would not go outside alone that evening or even the next morning. We have several other tools with which to help her through these storms, if needed....but for this first one....she gets the blue ribbon!

 

Monday, March 23, 2015

A huge thank you from Foster Mom and a big cuddle from Ginger to Vickie K. for choosing to sponsor our beautiful Ginger. We appreciate your generosity so much, as does everyone in RAGOM.

Ginger is continuing to learn that other dogs do not have to be viewed as a threat. She attended another Meet and Greet recently in Coon Rapids and did much, much better meeting some of the other pups there.

She also has been listening to the thunderstorm CD with little to no reaction so far. I started at a low volume and am increasing the sound gradually, but I think the only true test will be to see how she does when the first real storm arrives. I tried to choose a CD, based on reviews, that had more thunder claps than just steady rain, but this one has lots of rain and is not really reflective of a true storm.

Ginger also got to meet some young grandchildren recently, and as expected, did beautifully with them. She also enjoyed meeting everyone at the Meet and Greet and getting lots of belly rubs.

The pictures enclosed with this update depict Ginger's favorite bed for taking those much needed senior Golden naps plus showing her surprise and dismay this morning at having to feel that cold wet stuff on her feet again.

  

 

Monday, March 16, 2015

Ginger, you are awesome! Happy Valentine's Day!  Ginger, you are awesome! Happy Valentine's Day!  From Beau 14-117 and Family 

Sunday, March 8, 2015

 

First off a big thank you from Ginger and Foster Mom to Beau and his family for the lovely and generous Valentine icon. Thank you for noticing how special Ginger is....and she even looks very much like Beau in coloration!

Ginger has been making slow but steady progress in her adjustment to her new life with RAGOM from when she first arrived so frightened and confused. Her sweet nature has never wavered and as the days pass she becomes more and more affectionate and loving and trusting and secure. She actually makes a doggie purring sound when she cuddles close for lots of petting.

Ginger loves to be outdoors and with the warmer weather she loves to stroll the yard or sit outside and calmly watch the squirrels on the other side of the fence. No trying to tunnel under or scale the top of the fence.....just her ladylike demeanor, as always.

Her weight has leveled and she is no longer bony when you pet her......she looks and feels perfect. Her coat is growing in beautifully from a bad haircut. She eats well and loves, loves her hot dog chunks twice a day with a thyroid pill tucked inside one of the chunks each time. She is such an easy pup to have around....loves all people, curious but calm when the doorbell rings, rides quietly in the car, sleeps all night, stays off furniture unless invited, and lots more.

There are two areas on which Ginger and I are working.

One is her thunderstorm anxiety. I ordered a CD of thunderstorms and will try that with her to see if it helps desensitize her to the storms. And we do have medication if that should prove necessary.

Two...this was a bit unexpected. It turns out Ginger was never really socialized with other dogs in all her 11 years, and never had playtime with other pups. So when she first met canine visitors here at the house or in the yard it was with quite a bit of unexpected growling and barking on her part. No harm was done but she definitely did not want to share her space with another dog. She was fine with humans of all ages. So we need to work on socializing her enough so that she feels safe and not threatened when meeting new dogs and there have been some recent improvements. Meeting dogs in a neutral location has been much easier, and also more frequent meetings with familiar dogs is going much better, even in our yard. I think eventually Ginger would enjoy the company of another dog, especially another senior. It will just take time and careful introductions. She is such a good-natured and mild mannered dog that I don't want to restrict her to a no other dogs household at this point.